Senior al-Qaeda figure 'killed in Yemen' Apparent US air strikes killed seven suspected Al-Qaeda militants in southern Yemen, one of them the media chief of the jihadist network's regional affiliate, a local official said on Saturday .
The Yemeni defence ministry confirmed the deaths but insisted that Friday evening's strikes in Shabwa province, a militant stronghold east of the main southern city of Aden, were carried out by its own forces.
"Three strikes, apparently American, which were launched against positions held by Al-Qaeda militants in Azzan, one of the group's bastions, killed seven of them, including the Egyptian, Ibrahim al-Banna'a," the local official said.
One of the strikes hit a mosque near the apparent primary target of the strike, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A number of suspected militants were also wounded and were taken to Azzan hospital, which is under the control of the militants, he added.
The Yemeni defence ministry confirmed that Banna'a was among seven suspected Qaeda militants killed, adding that he was wanted "internationally" for "planning attacks both inside and outside Yemen."
Some reports said the attack involved US drones, others that it was by Yemeni planes.
US drones killed the group's leader, Anwar al-Awlaki, last month.
The Yemeni defence ministry said Banna was killed by Yemeni war planes in Shabwa, a militant stronghold east of Aden, late on Friday.
It called him one of the group's "most dangerous operatives", who was wanted internationally for "planning attacks both inside and outside Yemen".
Banna'a was "in charge of the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" and was one of the group's "most dangerous operatives," the ministry added.
Yemen routinely denies that the United States carries out offensive operations on its territory, insisting that it plays a purely logistic and intelligence role in support of Yemen's own counter-terror operations.
Yemen regularly plays down the US' role in the country, saying it is supporting Yemen's own operations.
A US drone attack in Khashef in Jawf province, about 140km (90 miles) east of the capital, Sanaa on 30 September killed Awlaki, a US-born radical Islamist cleric, and US-born propagandist Samir Khan.